John Buford

John Buford (4 March 1826-16 December 1863) was a Union cavalry officer during the American Civil War, with a prominent role at the start of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Biography
Buford was from Woodford County, Kentucky, but was raised on Rock Island in Illinois since the age of eight. He was the great-nephew of American Revolutionary War militiaman John Buford of Waxhaw Massacre fame and the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte Buford. In 1848 he attended West Point, graduating 16th of 38 cadets. He fought in Texas against the Sioux, in the Mormon War of 1857-1858, and Bleeding Kansas.

When the American Civil War began, it seemed likely that he would side with the Confederate States. He was a Kentuckian, his father was a slave-owner, and his wife's family was loyal to the south. But he had been educated in the north and came to maturity with the United States' army, and he decided to join the Union. In February 1861 he fought in the First Battle of Jackson in Mississippi, in which a Confederate army left the capital city of Mississippi to prevent him from reaching the walls and besieging them. His force was defeated, sending them scurrying back across the Mississippi, but the Confederates did not pursue and it was a minor loss.

Buford went on to redeem himself by winning the Battle of South Mountain in September 1862 and participating in the Battle of Antietam, and at the Battle of Gettysburg, he selected the ground for battle and went on to fight in the Battle of Chambersburg Pike alongside John Reynolds and George Armstrong Custer. His heroism there and in the following Bristoe Campaign in the post-battle series of skirmishes earned him a promotion to Major General, but by December his health was fading. He died of typhus, a great blow to the Union.